Here it is February already. How many of you had plans for January that didn’t reach fruition? This post was supposed to happen in January, and I don’t have a good excuse why it didn’t get written, but here it is.
When we make plans we often have to revise our plans, but if we don’t quit, we will reach our goal. Sometimes our goal is something we don’t have control of, which isn’t a good goal. For instance, I write books, and if my goal is to have a bestselling book, that isn’t in my control. What is in my control is to plant the seeds by writing a book and putting it out into the world.
There are many things in our lives we don’t control and lamenting about things we can’t change just wastes our energy, instead we should make happen what we can.
Where are you on your Toastmaster journey? Is becoming a DTM something you have started thinking about or are actively working toward? If so, what needs to happen to reach your goal? What can be done this week, month, or year? It might seem like the path to DTM is too long you can’t even see setting it as a goal. The time will pass whether you get your DTM or not.
To grow in Toastmasters or anywhere else in life, we have to take on roles we haven’t taken on before. Are we continuing where we were in Toastmasters after our first year, just rinsing and repeating each year without growing steadily? Is it time to plant a new seed? Is it time to become all you can be in Toastmasters? The good news is you can do it, but you’ll have to get out of your comfort zone to make it happen.
All growth comes from outside our comfort zone. Here’s to hoping you have changes you want to see in your life, and Toastmasters is part of your growth.
How often are you giving a speech? How often are you taking leadership roles, and not the same leadership roles, we have to take on new roles to continue to grow.
When we plant seeds in our lives we reap a harvest, but if we want apples we have to plant an apple seed, not a tomato seed.
Any fool can count the seeds in an apples, but who can count the apples in an apple tree? It is good to take stock of where we are today, but we also have to plant seeds to reap the harvest ahead of us.
You might think becoming a DTM is one seed, but it’s many seeds as you impact the lives of others. You might speak at other clubs, coach or start a new club, and your DTM project will impact others. All those seeds might come back to you in ways you can’t imagine. Becoming a DTM is not just about a plaque, a celebration, or points for your club. You could reap a life you can’t imagine right now.
You won’t be the same person when you receive your DTM you were when you started. The biggest reward is who you need to become to achieve your DTM. No one is going to lead you. You will have to choose to take the next step, and the one after that, until you complete the requirements. We are here to help, but this is your journey. Take the next step, and the next one, until you arrive at your destination. It took me from 1986 to 2024 to get mine, so don’t think it’s been too long, why bother now.
Good luck on your journey, we are cheering you on, but you need to take the steps, and plant the seeds to reap the harvest.
Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant. Robert Louis Stevenson
It is like the seed put in the soil – the more one sows, the greater the harvest. Orison Swett Marden
Actions are the seed of fate, deeds grow into destiny. Harry S. Truman
Created by Belynda Wilson Thomas DTM, DTM Chair District 86 2024-2025, Meadowvale Toastmasters